1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connecting structure of a resin panel and a stiffener for a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example structure of a panel body of a sunroof apparatus for a vehicle is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-211967. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-211967 discloses a technique in which a weather strip is attached through a frame to the circumference of a glass panel and a metallic supporting frame (stiffener) for mainly reinforcing the torsional rigidity of the glass panel is attached to the lower surface circumference of the glass panel by an adhesive agent.
The structure in which the metallic stiffener is attached to the glass panel by an adhesive agent as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-211967 can be realized since the thermal expansion/contraction amount of the glass is not so different from that of the material of the stiffener. Therefore, it is difficult to use the structure if the panel is a resin panel because the thermal expansion/contraction amount of the resin is larger.
With regard to this problem, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-034667 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-206064 disclose a technique for accommodating the deformation amount of a resin panel caused by the thermal expansion/contraction. As a specific structure, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-034667 discloses a technique in which a coupling boss for fixing a stiffener is formed on the lower surface of the resin panel in a protruding shape and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-206064 discloses a technique in which a hole through which a nut for fastening a stiffener is inserted is formed on the resin panel.
A resin panel has an excellent formability compared with a glass panel. However, in the technique in which the protruding portion or the hole is formed on the plate shape resin panel as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-034667 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-206064, there are problems that sinks may be formed around the protruding portion or the hole and a mold of the resin panel tends to have a complicated structure.